Chapter 463
Chapter 463: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility (1)
Ghislaine, wearing a mask, and the knights swaggered back into the castle.
It looked like bandits had arrived, but no one in the castle cared. They were dressed the same, and only their faces were covered, so everyone could tell who they were.
The soldiers and servants actually stepped aside as soon as they saw Ghislaine and her group.
‘Looks like they’re up to their crazy antics again.’
‘They’re consistently reckless… not sure if that’s good or bad.’
‘Let’s just pretend we didn’t see anything again.’
Thanks to everyone treating them like invisible men, Ghislaine and the knights could walk straight to Elena’s room without any obstruction.
The guard knights protecting Elena exchanged glances in front of Ghislaine and simply stepped aside.
Bang!
Ghislaine kicked the door open, causing Elena to jump and scream.
“What’s going on!”
“I am the Plunder King.”
“Hey, you crazy lunatic! Cut it out!”
Elena was furious, but Ghislaine pretended not to hear. If someone wouldn’t listen, you had no choice but to use force.
“Capture her.”
At his words, the masked knights surrounded Elena. The assassins guarding from the ceiling closed their eyes at the sight of Ghislaine.
“Don’t come any closer. You’ll hit me, won’t you?”
Elena stepped back, raising her fists, but the knights smirked.
“Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of you.”
Swish!
The knights sprang forward and instantly tied Elena up with ropes. Even if she struggled, she couldn’t escape since they tightly wound the ropes around her like a cocoon.
Even being born with divine power, without mastering the Mana Circulation Method, it was difficult for Elena to break free from the bindings.
She was left helpless, just shouting loudly.
“Let me go! Let me go! Aaah!”
As Elena was swiftly subdued, Ghislaine gestured towards the back.
“Bring it in.”
A giant wooden box was brought in. With a gag in her mouth, Elena was forced inside the box.
“I said let’s do this nicely.”
Once they arrived at the Northern Army, Elena would surely give up. Ghislaine grinned and put his ear to the box.
Only the sound of heavy breathing could be heard. It seemed Elena had no choice.
Feeling victorious, Ghislaine solemnly declared,
“With great power comes great responsibility. Let’s use your strength for the people. Be good. I’ll let you go once we arrive at the Northern Army.”
He thought it was over.
“Grrr…”
Thud, thud.
Hearing something strange, Ghislaine pressed his ear against the box again. Moments later—
BANG!
“Ugh!”
A fist shot out from the box. Ghislaine quickly turned his head to dodge it.
A glance inside the box revealed furious eyes glaring from the darkness.
“Wow, so you get stronger when you’re angry?”
Since realizing her own power, she was using it recklessly. The thought of needing to train her to properly manage such abnormal strength grew stronger.
Ghislaine urgently gestured to the knights.
“Hey, hey, let’s go quickly. Keep tying her up. She’s going to go full monster at this rate.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fists kept popping out of the box. The knights, horrified, grabbed the box and hurried away.
The assassins protecting Elena sighed and followed along. It seemed they had no choice but to chase her all the way to the Northern Army.
As Ghislaine continued to subdue Elena and prepared to leave, Zvalter rushed out in a fluster.
“Do you really have to take her like this?”
“Didn’t you tell me to handle it? This is the only way.”
“Seriously, she takes after her mother with that temper…”
Upon hearing Zvalter’s words, both Ghislaine and Belinda turned their heads. They still couldn’t reveal the secret about their mother.
Zvalter, shaking his head in resignation, continued.
“Alright, if that’s your decision, I understand. You must take good care of your sister.”
“Of course. Don’t worry.”
“And… take Skoban with you.”
“Uh? Skoban? Why him?”
Zvalter slightly diverted his gaze as he spoke.
“Well, it seems like he’s struggling to adjust to the territory lately. I thought a change of atmosphere might help… And you need someone to guard Elena, right?”
Once they get to the Northern Army, both Elena and Rachel would receive strict protection. There was no need for Skoban to tag along.
The assassins who were already on guard gathered their things to join.
Ghislaine understood Zvalter’s intention and clicked his tongue internally. He was subconsciously pushing Skoban to the Northern Army.
‘Poor kid.’
One bad rumor had completely ruined his reputation.
Ghislaine turned to see Skoban standing there with a glum expression, holding his belongings. Next to him was Ricardo, who looked completely dazed.
Skoban wasn’t thinking of dying alone. He had dragged Ricardo, the source of the rumor, along with him under the pretense of transferring to the Northern Army.
After all, rumors spread that the Northern Army was a demon army. Having one more person with a bad reputation wouldn’t change anything.
Ghislaine couldn’t help but smirk before nodding.
“Alright. We’ll take Skoban along, then. Well, I should get going.”
Bang!
Once again, the box broke, and a fist shot out. The knights struggled to hold Elena’s head down and quickly tied her up again.
“Dad! What are you doing! This crazy guy is kidnapping me! Mmmph!”
Zvalter looked distraught. He wanted nothing more than to save his daughter from the demons right away.
Seeing that expression, Ghislaine frantically gestured to the knights.
“Hey! Quickly tie her up again! Come on, let’s move!”
With new members joining the group, they headed straight for the Northern Army Camp.
*
Meanwhile, the Northern Army without Ghislaine was stationed at one location on the southern front, keeping watch.
Their task was to maintain a state of alert until Ghislaine returned. They were also responsible for blocking the Duke Faction’s forces when they arrived.
After Ghislaine left, news had come that the Duke Faction was moving, making the atmosphere more tense than ever.
While everyone was on edge, Alfoy was stuck studying under Vanessa’s watchful eye. Strange rumors had begun to circulate.
Namely, that the Duke Faction was also after Claude and Alfoy.
— The Chief Officer has shown his abilities in the war, hasn’t he? He’s the Chief Officer of the Great Territory, after all. And it’s also likely they want him dead because he’s quite annoying.
— But why Alfoy? He’s annoying too, but wouldn’t it be more sensible to target Vanessa first? They could always kill Alfoy later.
Those who heard the rumors were puzzled. Some thought it was just nonsense.
But the cautious Vanessa felt there must be a reason for the rumors, so she insisted that Alfoy needed to become stronger and study even on the battlefield.
Sneaking a glance at Alfoy studying inside the tent, Vanessa mused.
‘To think Alfoy is studying so diligently… I guess he’s worried about the rumors?’
Watching him stare intently at the book, Vanessa couldn’t help but smile. She had rarely seen him so focused.
Alfoy, meanwhile, was deep in thought while reading.
‘I should have eaten that pie earlier. Is there any way to get more money from Piote? Is our little chick living well in the sky? Why do humans even exist?’
‘Ah, I want to go on an adventure. I want to become a Count and own a territory. Perhaps my parents were incredibly rich nobles? In fact, I might not be an orphan but a kid kidnapped by my teacher. Yeah, that’s definitely it.’
‘What should I have for dinner? Ah, why do I feel sleepy just looking at books? I must not be suited for studying. But why does that Ascon jerk always insult me?’
These were totally useless thoughts far removed from studying.
Alfoy couldn’t focus on the book at all. Somehow, it felt like since coming to Penris, he had only been doing physical labor, and his brain had gotten quite dull.
‘I need stimulation. Something strong enough to wake my brain back up.’
At this rate, studying would be pointless. Alfoy suddenly leaped up from his seat. Just then, Vanessa rushed in.
“Alfoy! Why are you getting up in the middle of studying!”
“…Were you watching me?”
“W-well, not exactly. Just happened to pass by?”
“I was just going to consult with the Chief Officer about a concern I have. I can’t concentrate because of it.”
Vanessa squinted her eyes. She didn’t trust someone who always made excuses to skip studying.
“Fine. Just consult quickly and get back to studying. You need to master at least one 6th Circle magic soon. 6th Circle magic requires a deeper understanding of the elements than before, so you must pay more attention to mana arrangement…”
“I get it already…”
Once Vanessa’s lecturing tendencies kicked in again, Alfoy let his head droop. Honestly, he didn’t want to study at all, and nothing was getting through to him.
When Vanessa’s sudden lecture ended, Alfoy walked over to Claude with a gloomy expression.
Claude waved at him cheerfully from inside the command tent where he was talking with Ereness.
“Hey, Alfoy. What’s the matter? Aren’t you busy studying?”
“Um. Can I have a moment to consult?”
“Of course! If it’s my bro’s worry, I’m always here to listen.”
Alfoy sat down, wearing a serious face as he spoke.
“Lately, I just can’t seem to study. It feels like my brain is rusting. I used to be smart enough to become the heir of the Mage Tower.”
“It’s normal to feel that way if you haven’t used your brain in a while.”
“So, is there a way to give my brain a jolt? I think I need some strong stimulation. Not the hitting kind, but something that engages my mind.”
Claude nodded, as if he understood. This was his area of expertise.
“You just need to switch games. Since you’re cheating with magic, it’s expected you wouldn’t be using your brain. How about switching to card games?”
“Hmmm… Card games?”
“Yeah. Card games are different. You have to predict your opponent’s hand and constantly engage in psychological warfare. It’ll definitely be stimulating since you’ll have to think.”
Alfoy nodded, as if agreeing. Certainly, cheating at odd-and-even games didn’t require thought. In fact, there was no one to cheat against now anyway.
But there was still something lacking in Claude’s suggestion.
“It’s a reasonable idea. But wouldn’t such stimulation be a bit weak? I want something stronger.”
“You can increase the stakes.”
“Ah-ha.”
That makes sense. The higher the stakes, the stronger the stimulation would be.
As expected of Claude. To quickly provide this solution was impressive. He was truly an annoying guy, but there was no denying his intelligence.
“…”
Ereness, who had been silently listening to the conversation, looked at the two with a blank expression.
It felt like two fools were trading banter. Yet these were the key figures of the Northern Army.
It felt as though he had chosen the wrong people to ally with.
Claude turned to Ereness and asked.
“What do you think, Ereness?”
“…What do you mean?”
“About Alfoy wanting to switch games for some brain stimulation. My suggestion isn’t bad, right?”
“I… don’t really understand such things.”
“Oh, have you only been living in the forest? It’s a shame you’ve never learned to enjoy fun things.”
“…”
As a high-ranking Elf Great Chief who had lived for many years, he could confidently say he had never met anyone who acted so foolishly in front of him.
Even human nobles would never dare to speak such nonsense before him.
With these ‘naturally’ behaving individuals, he had no idea how to respond.
Just as the awkward atmosphere continued, a scout rushed in, shouting.
“The Duke Faction’s forces have appeared nearby! They’re about to arrive! Their scouts must have confirmed us as well!”
At those words, Claude asked with a disinterested expression.
“How many are there?”
“About 100,000, we estimate.”
“Wow, that’s a lot. I know they’ve divided their legion heading for the capital into three, and they’re sending 100,000 just this way? They’re really set on killing us.”
Claude clicked his tongue and stood up.
He predicted that the Duke Faction alone could raise an army of over 100,000. Furthermore, all the vassals of the Duke Faction in the south were also mobilizing.
Historically, the southern region overflowed with money and food. If they poured all that into this, estimating how many soldiers they could raise would be quite difficult.
Compared to the absolute power of Marquis Roderick from the west, this could genuinely be said to be the strongest influence in the kingdom.
Claude stroked his chin a few times and mumbled.
“Let’s see. We can’t let the lord know, so in the end, we have to hold them off ourselves.”
Dark had long since used up all his mana and disappeared. The lord would likely send a new clone, but the battle would begin soon.
The Northern Army was stationed on the shortest route to the capital from the south. Being the most important location, it must be defended by the strongest forces.
Claude flashed a slightly mischievous grin.
“They must think that if the lord is out of the picture, they can push us over in no time… I wonder what preparations they’ve made? It’s probably obvious, but….”
The Northern Army was renowned for being strong. With both the quality of military weapons and the strength of individual soldiers being excellent, merely having numbers wouldn’t ensure victory over the Northern Army.
Thus, the Duke Faction must have prepared a force capable of countering them.
But what the Duke Faction didn’t know was that the superhuman powers on this side were not limited to just Ghislaine.
Claude smiled at Ereness.
“This time, it seems the Great Chief will need to show his great strength.”
“Alright, I understand. You guys look like it would be more comfortable to just go out and fight.”
As Ereness rose from his seat, a massive aura began to ripple like waves.
